In recent years, flat display devices have been actively developed. Among them, liquid crystal display devices are attracting attention because of such advantages as light weight, low profile, and low power consumption. Particularly, a structure in which a lateral electric field (including a fringe electric field), such as an in-plane switching (IPS) mode and a fringe field switching (FFS) mode, a used is attracting attention in an active matrix liquid crystal display device in which a switching element is incorporated in each pixel. The lateral-electric-field-mode liquid crystal display device includes a pixel electrode and a counterelectrode, which are formed in an array substrate, and liquid crystal molecules are switched by the lateral electric field that is substantially parallel to a principal surface of the array substrate.
In contrast, there has also been proposed a technology in which the lateral electric field or an oblique electric field is formed between the pixel electrode formed in the array substrate and the counterelectrode formed in the countersubstrate, and the liquid crystal molecules are switched.